The Blind Date at the Bar
by pdlbean
Summary: Brennan is roped into going on a blind date. Just a fluffy little one-shot for fun.


**So, while I work on the next chapters of My Love Always and The Prisoner on the Phone, I thought I would write a fun little one-shot. It's pretty easy to figure out where this is going, but it's just some fun fluff. I hope you like it!**

**Oh, and I hadn't read Tober's fic until I had this idea. It hadn't been written, and I almost didn't write it because I didn't want to steal her idea. If she would like me to take it down I have no objections.**

"Temperance, are you listening?" Brennan re-focused her attention on the woman next to her. She was at Founding Fathers, alone. Booth was out with Parker for the evening and it was date night for Angela and Hodgins. Booth had invited her to go to the movies with him and Parker, but she declined, not wanting to intrude. So the two of them decided they would meet at the bar after Rebecca picked up Parker that night. She was waiting for him now.

"I'm sorry, Kristi," Brennan apologized with a small smile. Kristi had approached her a few minutes ago and began talking her ear off about how there were no good looking guys here tonight. Brennan was only half-listening as she babbled on about the string of bad dates she had been on in recent months. "What were you saying?"

"I'm just saying, it's _so _hard to meet a good guy these days, right?" Brennan nodded and sighed heavily. She glanced at her watch and wondered just how long it would take Booth to get there and save her from the half-drunk twenty-something. "What about you? Are you one of the lucky ones?" Brennan only gave her companion a confused look. "You know, do you have a boyfriend?" Kristi elaborated.

"Oh, no," Brennan answered. "I find the term 'boyfriend' juvenile," she added, wishing the girl would just go away.

"Well then what would you call your… significant other?" Kristi inquired. Brennan thought a moment. She had never referred to Sully as her anything, and besides him and Peter she never really had any significant others to speak of.

"I suppose I would call him my par…" she stopped herself before she could say 'partner.' "I don't know what I would call him. I suppose his name." Kristi laughed and touched Brennan affectionately on the shoulder.

"That's really funny, Temperance," she giggled, her words beginning to slur slightly. Brennan scrunched her brow and glanced at Kristi's hand on her shoulder. Kristi took it away and took another sip of her drink. "Hey, you know what? I work as a secretary for the FBI." For the first time, Brennan was interested in what she had to say.

"Oh? I'm a forensic anthropologist, I work in conjunction with the FBI on murder cases," she said, sitting up a little straighter with pride. Kristi only continued talking as if she hadn't heard her.

"I know this great guy, he's an agent. I don't work for him but we've talked. He made it pretty clear he wasn't interested in me, but maybe you two would hit it off. He's totally hot."

"You want to set me up on a blind date?" Brennan asked the practical stranger. Kristi nodded enthusiastically.

"Come on, it'll be fun," she encouraged. Brennan was about to protest, but decided not to. Booth had recently broken up with Hannah, and the two of them were back to normal, essentially. But Brennan still had feelings for him she couldn't deny. It was taking way more than three days for her world to turn right side up again. In fact, it was quickly approaching three months since her tearful confession in the SUV.

"Okay," she agreed. Kristi beamed.

"Great, I'll just tell him to meet you here at nine next Saturday night. Does that sound good to you?" Brennan said it did and Kristi soon disappeared, having found a guy that was apparently good looking enough for her attention.

"Sorry I'm late, Bones," she heard Booth's voice in her ear. She turned to face him with a smile. "Rebecca had car trouble and was a little late picking up Parker. I hope you weren't waiting too long."

"No, not too long," Brennan assured him. "How was the movie?" Brennan listened attentively as Booth recounted his evening with Parker, and the two of them had a very nice time before going their separate ways for the night.

**-BONES-**

Brennan walked into Founding Fathers the following Saturday, still feeling completely ridiculous. She had no idea why she had agreed to this. It was going to be a disaster, she knew it. She was surveying the bar for a man sitting alone who could possibly be her date when she heard a surprised shout of "Bones!"

She looked in the direction of the shout to see her partner sitting at the bar, beer in hand. She felt color rising in her cheeks as she walked up to him. "Booth, what are you doing here?" she asked casually.

"Oh, you won't believe it," he said with a chuckle. "Somebody set me up on a blind date. I'm only doing it to be nice, there's no way this thing is going anywhere."

"Why don't you think it'll go anywhere?" Brennan asked. Booth looked down for a moment before meeting her gaze again.

"What brings you here tonight?" he decided to ask, completely avoiding the question. Brennan sighed.

"I've been set up on a blind date as well." Booth smiled and laughed.

"You're kidding!" he exclaimed. "Who set you up?"

"A woman I met while waiting for you here last week," she explained. "I don't know why I agreed. It's silly."

"Yeah, this secretary at the Hoover asked me to meet someone here tonight. I don't even know how I'm going to spot her; I didn't even get a name." Brennan's eyes widened as she realized what was happening.

"This secretary… her name wouldn't happen to be Kristi, would it?" she ventured. Booth's brow furrowed.

"Yeah, that's right. Kristi…" His mouth hung open for a second. "Oh… so you're, uh… huh," he stammered. "Well," he stuck his hand out to be shaken, "Seeley Booth." Brennan only stared at him. "If we're gonna do this we might as well do it right," he whispered. "Just go along with it, Bones."

"Temperance Brennan," she said as she took his outstretched hand. She took the seat next to him and ordered her drink.

"So, what do you do for a living?" Booth asked with a coy smile when she received her drink. Brennan shrugged.

"I'm a forensic anthropologist; I work with the FBI in murder investigations. I'm also a best-selling author." Booth nodded and took a swig of his beer.

"An author, huh? Do you base your characters on people you know? Your friends, your family, or maybe your partner at the FBI?" He winked playfully and Brennan rolled her eyes.

"I assure you that my writings are pure fiction." Booth's goofy smile didn't fade. "Why did you agree to this blind date?" she asked tentatively. Booth took a deep breath and another drink.

"I don't know," he said. Then, he corrected himself. "I do know, but it's stupid." Brennan waited expectantly, knowing he would continue. "I just broke up with someone. It was pretty serious, we lived together. I loved her. But I couldn't make it work. There was something between us that just couldn't go away." Brennan broke eye contact with him. She and Booth hadn't talked about his break up with Hannah in much detail, and she was sure that she was the thing that wouldn't go away.

"Booth…" she began to apologize for ruining his relationship, but he put up a hand to stop her.

"Hey, only a few people call me Booth, and we barely know each other," he joked. "The thing that wouldn't go away was… my feelings for someone else."

"How long have you had feelings for this person?" Brennan asked; her heart beginning to pound in her chest.

"Almost seven years," Booth answered. "And I've just been waiting for the right time… to tell her that I still love her. I just haven't said anything yet because I didn't want her to feel like she was second best. She's never been second choice. It's always been her since that first kiss in the rain." Booth paused and just looked at Brennan for a long moment. "Why did you go on this date?"

"Well," Brennan began nervously. She was still trying to digest what Booth had just told her. "I'm in a similar situation. This man has been my friend and my partner for six years. There's always been a sexual attraction there, but neither of us acted on it. Then he did, and I said no. It took quite a bit for me to realize that I was, in fact, in love with him. And was deserving of his love in return. But it was too late. He was with someone else. I'm on this date in a futile attempt to get over him. I ruined everything." Booth shook his head and took her hand in his.

"You both messed up," he promised. "That doesn't mean you can't fix it now. Maybe… maybe neither of us missed our moment. Not really."

"I hope you're right." With a small smile Booth leaned in and their lips met.

**So, the end! I hope you liked it. :D Tell me what you thought!**


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